Andrew Davies (House of Cards, Bridget Jones's Diary) will write the script. The story will remain based in war-torn 19th century Russia. Many philosophical elements of the long novel are expected to be left out, with the series focusing on the human interactions, romance and family conflicts.

The news of the series comes after the recent unveiling of several of the latest high-profile BBC drama projects.

“War and Peace is truly epic in scale and builds on BBC One's commitment to bringing audiences drama of the highest quality and impact," said Cohen.

“Not just a great novel, it’s a wonderful read, and it’ll make a wonderful serial," Davies said about War and Peace. "A thrilling, funny and heartbreaking story of love, war and family life -- the characters are so natural and human and easy to identify with."

In Britain, Davies is known for his 1995 TV adaptation of Pride and Prejudice starring Colin Firth and the 2008 BBC adaptation of Sense and Sensibility.

In the film world, he has collaborated on the screenplays for the Bridget Jones films based on Helen Fielding's novels and worked on such projects as The Tailor of Panama, based on the John Le Carre book.

The BBC aired a War and Peace series with Anthony Hopkins from 1972-1974.